Ossoff attempts to tap into angst over ‘Big, Beautiful’ law at rally

Credit: Sarah Peacock

Credit: Sarah Peacock

“Today our fight is against deeply entrenched corruption and greed. Greed that has so deeply rotted our system that it gave rise to this depraved man who has now plagued our public lives for a decade,” said Ossoff, who opened his reelection bid with a March rally in Atlanta. “Come next November, we will do our part to end this spiral into chaos and corruption.”

Ossoff focused his message in the 26-minute speech almost exclusively on Trump and made no mention of the announced Republican challengers seeking to unseat him in November 2026. That field includes Rep. Buddy Carter, the Savannah-area native who represents coastal Georgia in the U.S. House.

The Trump-centric approach reflects the Democratic Party’s strategy to turn next year’s midterms into a referendum on Trump’s return to office. And Ossoff, one of 13 Democratic senators up for reelection in the midterms, is among those already taking steps to put the Republican-backed tax and spending bill front and center.

The bill extends roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts from Trump’s first term, undoes key parts of President Joe Biden’s platform and increases funding for immigration enforcement and national defense initiatives, enacting many of the president’s domestic policy vows.

But to offset the bill’s cost, the legislation slashes $1 trillion from Medicaid, cuts the federal food stamp program and rolls back incentives that have turned Georgia into a hub for green energy manufacturing. It also adds roughly $3 trillion to the national debt.

Roughly 310,000 Georgians could lose insurance under the bill, according to a forecast by the health research nonprofit KFF.

Top Georgia Republicans are unequivocally behind the measure. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reached out to all current and potential candidates for U.S. Senate. All but one, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, affirmed their support.

They are making a politically risky bet that midterm voters will accept steep cuts to clean energy tax credits and public health programs in exchange for tax cuts and other Trump priorities.

“Middle-class tax cuts, no taxes on tips and overtime, cheaper energy and protecting Americans from violent illegals? This should not be that difficult,” said Insurance Commissioner John King, one of Ossoff’s GOP rivals. “This bill was a start. Now there’s more to do to tackle the fraud, waste and abuse of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

Carter slammed Ossoff for voting to “increase Georgians’ taxes by $1,500.

“This bill prevents the largest tax hike in American history, eliminates taxes on tips and overtime, secures our southern border, unleashes American energy dominance, strengthens Medicaid, and delivers on President Donald Trump’s mandate to Make America Great Again,” Carter said.

Ossoff on Saturday presented a different perspective on the polarizing legislation signed into law July 4. He targeted the measure’s cuts to Medicaid, its slashing of federal jobs and grants for research and infrastructure, spending increases on illegal immigration enforcement and the impact on the national debt.

He said “what’s happening to our country right now should chill us to the bone.”

Credit: Sarah Peacock

Credit: Sarah Peacock

Attendees roared their agreement, cat-calling Trump and Georgia Republicans who Ossoff says are choosing “loyalty to Trump” over allegiance to their constituents.

High-profile Democrats at the rally took note of the crowd’s energy. The vote remains nearly 16 months away, but the atmosphere had more of a month-out-from-the-election feel, one said.

“To say Georgians are frustrated would be an understatement; more like alarmed, worried, and this response is them putting their concerns into action,” said state House Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook, D-Savannah. “The Trump administration is doing the work for us. All Sen. Ossoff has to do is keep it in the spotlight.”

Savannah resident Amanda Hollowell called Trump’s actions since taking office in January “ruthless and harmful.” She’s a caregiver to her elderly father, a military veteran who receives benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs and from Medicaid. That assistance is in jeopardy under Trump, she said.

“We have to speak out and make a change,” she said. “We must stop Trump and take our rights back.”